Court Sentences Calvinfernian to 120 Days in Jail, Extends Probation for 3 More Years in the Case of Former Apple Employee Stealing Project Autonomous Vehicle Data.

There are reports that the lower court in the northern district of California has ruled on Xiaolang Zhang’s case. Zhang, a former engineer who previously worked on Apple’s Project Titan, was found guilty of stealing Apple’s trade secrets while transitioning to his new job at Xpeng, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer. As a result, he has been sentenced to 120 days in prison, with a 3-year probation period, and ordered to pay a fine of $146,984.

Zhang was apprehended by the FBI in 2018 while he was en route to China (as previously reported). Initially, he informed Apple that he needed a leave of absence to take care of his family in China, but later declared his resignation. This prompted Apple to conduct a retrospective investigation, which revealed a significant amount of data being exfiltrated. Subsequently, they collaborated with law enforcement and managed to apprehend Zhang before he could travel to China. It is unclear whether he shared this data with Xpeng, but the actions taken clearly show his attempt to extract valuable information.

In the beginning, Zhang denied all allegations, but during the court proceedings in 2022, he was presented with compelling evidence supporting each claim.

TLDR: Xiaolang Zhang, a former Apple engineer, has been sentenced to 120 days in prison and a 3-year probation period, along with a fine of $146,984, for stealing trade secrets while transitioning to a new job at Xpeng. Zhang was apprehended by the FBI in 2018 and subsequently found guilty in court in 2022.